Without a doubt, the most common set of questions that readers ask us all have to do with finding the best way how to get cat pee out of carpet. That’s why I’ve put together this handy guide for removing cat urine stains and odors from the carpet and rugs at home.

I have lived and worked with cats my entire life. I’ve loved every single one of them, and for the most part (there has been a few exceptions) they have all been great, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t run into my fair share of issues with inappropriate urination over the years.

Having to clean up cat pee is never fun, but the worst instances always occur when it’s on carpet. Figuring out effective ways how to get cat pee out of carpet can be tough; it took me years to get a process that actually works down pat. That’s why I decided to write this article: to share my experiences and the techniques that I’ve found have worked for me when trying to get cat pee out of carpet.

The Most Effective Solution for Inappropriate Urination

Cat pee is a pain – it will stain your carpet, furniture, and walls, cause unpleasant odors to linger around your home, and oftentimes can cause respiratory and other breathing issues – sometimes even serious health problems. That’s why the absolute best way how to get cat pee out of carpet, and keep it out in the future, is to stop your cat’s spraying issues altogether.

But for fighting urine marks and stains right now, there are a number of simple steps that you can take to negate and get rid of unsightly spots and unflattering odors.

Finding the Stain

Before you can begin to treat the cat pee, you have to first locate the stain. Sometimes this is easy: some cats go to the bathroom in the open where you can quickly find the spot. Other cats choose to go behind furniture and in corners, making it far more difficult to track down the source of the odor.

Do you find yourself constantly smelling the scent of cat pee, but aren’t sure exactly where it’s coming from? The single best way to find difficult-to-see urine spots is with the aid of a UV flashlight. These ultraviolet light rays reflect off of the chemicals in cat urine, causing hidden spots to glow when the light is shined directly on them. This makes hard-to-find spots easy to notice, no matter where they are in your home.

Treating the Stain

First things first, if it’s a fresh stain (i.e. not a urine spot which has been sitting all day or overnight), use a small bundle of absorbent paper towels to soak up as much of the excess cat pee out of the carpet as possible.

For actually treating the spot itself, the single strongest tool that you can have in your arsenal is a good enzyme cleaner. These enzymatic cleaners contain a type of helpful bacteria which feeds off of the organic compounds in cat urine. This causes the bacteria to completely consume the offending stain. Then, once the urine is gone and there’s no more food for the bacteria to process, the microscopic bacterium dry up and disappear, essentially leaving your carpet good as new.

Enzyme Cleaner Directions: Simply spray the enzyme cleaner solution onto the affected area of your carpet. Lightly scrub the cleaner in with a gentle brush to ensure full coverage of the affected area, and then just sit back and let the good bacteria take care of the rest.

For an added level of protection once the enzymatic cleaner is all dried up, it doesn’t hurt to vacuum the spot and then lightly spritz the area with an odor-masking spray like Feliway to further reduce the likelihood that the cat – or another feline in your household – will reoffend in the same spot in the future.

DIY Alternatives for Cat Urine in Carpet

Personally, I’ve found that using an enzyme cleaner is the most effective way how to get cat pee out of carpet, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only option that you have. There are a number of other DIY alternatives that many cat owners swear by, although I have noticed that they don’t work nearly as well as a strong dose of urine-eating bacteria for permanently removing the stains and odors associate with cat urine.

Some other DIY ways how to get cat pee out of carpet include:

Preventing Reoccurrences

Mixing a solution of ½ vinegar and ½ warm water helps to cut the scent of cat urine out of carpet, making it less pungent in the air and also making it less likely that the cat will return to the same spot in the future. Some people aren’t necessarily fans of the smell of vinegar, however, so it’s worth noting that this treatment will likely cause the vinegar odor to linger around for some time.

Absorbing Fresh Cat Urine Stains

Baking soda is a another great treatment for fresh urine spots as it can quickly help soak up any excess moisture left behind after applying a handful of paper towels and some pressure for a couple of minutes. Baking soda can be messy, however, and this technique only works on fresh spots – it won’t help with stains which are already dry and have set into the fibers of the carpet.

If you decide to go this route, make sure to note that it’s important to use a wet vac or shop vac to suck up the baking soda once it’s absorbed the cat urine. Your typical household vacuum cleaner probably isn’t built to pick up liquids or even the moist baking soda that’s clumping together. If you try to vacuum up the spot with a regular vacuum, you’re likely going to find yourself taking it apart for extensive cleaning afterwards, or possibly even being forced to throw it away altogether.

Scrubbing Solution

Another home remedy for cat urine spots involves mixing ½ cup of peroxide with a teaspoon of dish soap to create a mixture that you can use to scrub away both wet and dry urine stains. This mix can be an effective way how to get cat pee out of carpet, but it may not necessarily help prevent future reoccurrences in the same spot. Also, make sure to use caution when applying peroxide to your carpet – always test a small inconspicuous spot first to ensure it doesn’t cause any permanent bleaching or discoloration.

How to Get Cat Pee Out of Carpet

Here is a handy and concise guide with step-by-step instructions of the best way how to get cat pee out of carpet:

Being a cat owner is a package deal. When you sign up for it, you’re agreeing to deal with every aspect of the pet parent life, from playing with your kitty, to snuggling with her, and to cleaning up her messes. Unfortunately, cleaning up her accidents can be a frequent duty, and it’s even worse when it seems like there are still traces of urine smell in different parts of the house. Yeah—not so enjoyable. We understand the struggle, so we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on how to clean cat urine from various surfaces.

How to Clean Cat Urine from Couch

Cleaning up cat urine on any piece of furniture before it dries is especially crucial, because it can soak deep down in there, even as far as the frame. Use some paper towels to soak up as much pee as possible, and then soak it with enzymatic cleaner. Cover it loosely with something like aluminum foil that will protect it from your cat’s meddling and let others know not to sit on it, and let it be for 10 to 15 minutes.

If the smell isn’t gone by the next day, repeating this process is a great idea! You can also try using the homemade solutions that you use when cleaning the carpet, and see if that helps with the odor.

How to Clean Cat Urine from Mattress

Follow the same steps as you do when cleaning the carpet, except for the wet vac step. Let is sit and dry with a fan directly hitting it and the windows open. Shut the door so that your cat can’t return to the spot!

How to Clean Cat Urine from Carpet

You’ll first need some paper towels or a rag you’re not attached to. Press down on the soiled area, soaking up as much urine as you can. Then, get your handy-dandy enzymatic cleaner and follow the instructions on the bottle closely.

Create a solution composed of equal parts vinegar and water, and pour it over the area. Grab your box of baking soda and sprinkle it generously over the spot.

Now, make another solution that’s made up of a ½ a cup of hydrogen peroxide and 1 teaspoon of dish detergent. Drench the soiled area with this solution and give it a good scrub! Last, you’ll need a wet vac to remove all the chemicals and urine particles, and voilà! Success!

How to Clean Cat Urine from Hardwood Floor

This process is a little more complex because hardwood floors can be ruined if you’re not careful. First, wipe the puddle with an old rag, and use multiple if necessary. Before using any old cleaning solution that you have, do a little research to see what chemicals are safe for the type of wood your floor is, and make sure that the cleaner is specifically for cleaning up pet urine.

Test is on a small, unnoticeable area of your floor before using it to clean the spot so you can ensure that it won’t do any damage. After finding and using the cleaner, damp another old rag with that trusty hydrogen peroxide and water concoction, and cover the spot with it. Let it sit for couple hours (or if necessary, overnight), and then remove any liquid that’s left over.

Lastly, cover it with baking soda to finish soaking up any remaining dampness, and then clean it up and let the spot dry some more.

How to Clean Cat Urine from Clothes

The first step in this case is to soak your clothes with cold water in a bucket. Pour in 2 to 3 cups of white vinegar, and let it be for at least two hours. Dump the water outside or in the toilet, ring the clothes free of liquid (with gloves, of course), and throw them into the washer with a load of detergent.

Take them out and give them a good sniff to see if the cat pee smell is gone. If so, let them air dry. If not, put them in the washer again, but with detergent and enzymatic cleaner. That should do the trick!

The better you know how to clean cat urine, the less likely she is to return and repeat the process. Now that you know how to clean cat urine from multiple surfaces, we hope you can get back to the more pleasant aspects of caring for your furry little friend!

You’re having your neighbors over for dinner for the first time tonight – you’re so excited that you’ve been preparing all day. You’ve cleaned every single room of your home, prepared a delicious three-course meal, and even bathed your pets for the occasion. But when they finally arrive and you welcome them in, you watch their smiles gradually (yet noticeably) transform into an expression that reads loud and clear, “what in the world is that smell?”

Sometimes, spraying that cat pee stain with a cleaning product and applying a little scrubbing action doesn’t always do the trick. The visual stain may be gone, and you may no longer smell it because you’ve gotten used to it, but your neighbors sure do. Don’t worry – they’ll understand. But you’ll probably want to get it fixed for next time.

Here’s how to get rid of cat urine smell so that your next dinner party – or just the next time you have friends over – won’t have the same awkward beginning:

Locate the Stain

Beware: this is not a glamorous step, but it is one of the most necessary. You’re probably going to need to get on your hands and knees and sniff around in order to locate the pee stain. Sure, it’s easier to just try to remember where your cat had its last accident, or to guess where it is by the strength of the odor in different parts of the room. Unfortunately, that leaves you with the obvious risk of not actually locating the stain, so you’ll go on living in a urine-scented home. Trust me, you definitely don’t want that.

Spray with Enzymatic Cleaner

It’s crucial that the product that you use is enzymatic, which has special biological enzymes that greatly reduce the smell of cat urine, and sometimes remove it completely. Remember that it’s important to follow the instructions on the bottle very carefully – they’re there for a reason. Applying too much of certain cleaners can have a negative effect on some carpets and fabrics.

Use Vinegar Solution

This step in the process is incredibly important, as the vinegar is one of the best ways how to get rid of cat pee smell and prevent future recurrences in the same spot. Compose a homemade solution that contains ½ vinegar and ½ water, and use it to soak the spot as well as the area around it (just in case!). Let the mix sit for a few minutes, and then dry the spot with a clean rag or a paper towel.

Use Baking Soda

In case you didn’t know, baking soda does wonders when it comes to absorbing odors. So go find your Arm & Hammer box of baking soda and sprinkle a generous amount of it on the spot in order to remove the deep-down moisture that causes the urine smell to linger.

Use Hydrogen Peroxide and Dish Detergent Mixture

When these two come together, magic happens. Form a mixture that’s composed of ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide and a teaspoon of dish detergent. Then pour it over the cat pee stain, and scrub away! A toothbrush or bristle brush will do the job with great results and the least amount of elbow grease.

Vacuum It

Last but not least, vacuum the spot thoroughly! A normal vacuum cleaner will do just fine – there’s no need to waste tons of money on a special pet vac. We only advise that you don’t use a steam cleaner, as the heat that they produce can actually cause the odor to permanently nestle itself into your carpet.

How to Get Rid of Cat Urine Smell – Wrapping Up

By following these easy steps, the next time that your neighbors come over for dinner, they’ll be able to breathe easy, and so will you. We hope that these tips helped you learn how to get rid of cat urine smell, and keep your home smelling fresh and clean for a long time to come.

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